Blog Tour: Haunted Author Joy Preble Interview

Today we are the last stop in Joy Preble's blog tour. We are celebrating her latest release Haunted. Haunted is the sequel in her Dreaming Anastasia series. Mundie Moms hosted this tour and you can see all the stops HERE. 

Joy Preble Links: Website / Goodreads / Twitter  

OUaT: How would you describe Haunted in 5 words or less?

I'll borrow from Cynthia Leitich Smith, who blurbed HAUNTED for the cover: Spooky, sassy, sinister, and sexy!

OUaT: What elements of your story have you enjoyed creating the most? (the romance or paranormal part)
Although the paranormal elements are lots of fun, I do enjoy the romance more. in fact I'm currently working on a contemporary romance that I hope you'll see one day soon. But yeah, the Anne and Ethan romance is my favorite part. Of course at the beginning of HAUNTED, Anne is trying to forget about Ethan and all the craziness he's brought into her world, so she's with normal lifeguard Ben. But that doesn't go so well... which was also fun to write. There's this great moment early in HAUNTED when Ethan comes back and realizes that Ben is Anne's boyfriend. I love writing scenes like that! Of course since it's also a paranormal, I get to have even more fun because in that scene the evil mermaid almost kills Ben and Ethan has to help save him. Which definitely amps up the romantic conflict.

OUaT: Did you find it challenging to take the lore of Baba Yaga and add your own unique elements to it to make it work for your series?

Actually, I love writing Baba Yaga. I have read just about everything there is to read about her and many, many of the stories in which she appears. She never fails to fascinate me because she's so unpredictable. She might eat you. She might help you. Depends on her whim and her mood. I do a lot of playing with the idea of her having given up beauty for power, which I think is a fascinating feminine conceit. Today we tend to think we can have it all. But Baba Yaga opens up this whole world of conversation about how men see powerful women, how the world sees older or less attractive women, how power changes people... I think I'm the only one to write about a Baba Yaga who has been compelled by a mysterious Brotherhood to keep Anastasia Romanov captive! And her back story as I unfold it is my own. But the character in general is as she has evolved throughout Russian folklore and beyond.

OUaT: What have you come to admire the most about Anne and Ethan individually?

I love Anne's bravery and her realization that power requires sacrifice. I love that she doesn't always know her own heart. I think lots of us don't -- at least I didn't when I was sixteen. I fell in love quickly and easily and out of love just as fast. But for Anne the stakes are huge: she doesn't know if she will be around to follow through on her love. So she keeps standing back.She's often too pragmatic. And that doesn't always have the best results for her... But I guess I love that's it's hard for her. As for Ethan, I love that although he has a darkness underneath that he is loyal to Anne no matter what. He may not even think that he deserves these second and third chances she keeps providing for him. But he is THERE for her. He would definitely die for her, which I don't think I understood when I first began to write him. He is deeply romantic in this old-fashioned way that I adore.

OUaT: Do you have one piece of advice you'd share with teen writers?

Read. Read. Read. And write. It has often been said and I wholeheartedly agree: Not all readers are writers. But ALL good writers are readers. End of story. If you want to write romance, read 100 romances. Then you can begin your craft.

Thank you for stopping by today and visiting the tour stop. Make sure you check out all the tour stops in this tour and say Hello to Joy. 

Buy the Book!